Donors urge Ethiopian political parties to join parliament
Sept 14, 2005 (ADDIS ABABA) — Twenty four donor nations on Wednesday urged parties which took part in Ethiopia’s controversial election to take their seats in parliament which is expected to officially open later this month.
Final results issued by the electoral board showed Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and allied parties won enough seats in the 547-member parliament to form the next government.
But the main opposition parties the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) rejected the results and have not decided whether to take their seats in the parliament.
They have proposed a unity government to forestall political unrest, a proposal that the government has termed as unconstitutional.
“We urge all parties to take their seats in the National Assembly with goodwill and mutual respect to express the interests and views of all Ethiopians in a vibrant multi-party parliament,” the 24 embassies resident in Ethiopia said in a statement. “Ethiopia stands at a crossroads, if dialogue and a constitutional rule of law are abandoned, the gains of the past decade will be lost.”
The opposition sharply increased its standing in the May 15 polls, widely seen as Ethiopia’s most democratic vote yet.
“We look forward to a dynamic parliament in which the opposition has strong voice and there is a spirit of inclusiveness and cooperation,” the donors said.
Disputes over the elections led to street protests in which 36 died when police opened fire on demonstrators. The diplomats demanded that “irregularities and violence” that occurred during the election process be addressed so that they are avoided in the future.
The 24 embassies included the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Meles has in the past been feted by Western leaders and was a prominent member of the British-sponsored Africa Commission giving recommendations to the G8 group of rich nations on how to tackle the continent’s problems.
(Reuters)